Backup Plan
by riddle-girl-lost
Summary: L knows that the Kira case is at a dead end; so he calls in for a certain serial killers assisstance. Unfortunately for L, although Beyond Birthday may be helping them hunt down Kira, he plans on doing it his own way. no yaoi sorry! Begins during the Yotsuba Arc.
1. Plan

**A/N: Good day to you all! I have been a dedicated fan of the emotional roller coaster that is Death Note, and decided the time was right for making my own little story for it! (Even though I should probably be updating my other story…) Just to let everyone know, this takes place during the Yotsuba Arc, so Light+Misa are still memory free. If you have not read **Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases**, then you'll probably be a bit confused. Now enough with this note, moving along…**

**Disclaimer: Hmm, alright, I do not own any of these wonderful, and sometimes aggravating characters, or the series, or anything Death Note in general (except that lovely t-shirt I bought the other day, had L's face all over it :3).**

* * *

The Kira case was coming to a dead end. L knew that the third Kira in the Yotsuba group was merely a pawn, a distraction if you will, orchestrated by the original Kira, who, L thought bitterly, they were still no closer to identifying. Kira had covered his tracks very well; however nothing was ever perfect. They just needed to find that one crack in his cover, and then Kira could be brought to justice.

L nibbled his thumb thoughtfully, and contemplated the little spark of an idea that had wormed its way into his mind the other night. It was risky, he knew, but wouldn't the possibility of success be worth it? L knew that any risks would be irrelevant if it could help solve the Kira case. However, he was only 15% certain that his plan would work without any difficulties.

L gazed at the small group of men working before him. It was definite that they needed a new lead, and quickly. While there was a 9% chance that Light Yagami was indeed Kira, there was absolutely no condemning evidence against him, at least, none that would hold in a court. L still couldn't shake that bad feeling he had whenever he glanced at the teenager.

No, they needed the assistance, much as it frustrated L to admit. It may come at a cost, but he would deal with the consequences later. If he was going to bring his backup plan into place, he would need to prepare immediately. There must be as little chance as possible for anything to wrong or they would be hunting not one, but two separate murderers.

L pulled out his phone quite suddenly, startling everyone else.

"Watari" L said, ignoring the looks of curiosity being sent towards him "I need you to contact the residence of our friend in L.A".

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before Watari replied, "Of course L. May I ask why?"

"I believe that having a new perspective on the Kira investigation will assist us greatly. We can no longer afford to keep following empty leads." L said.

Light, who had been listening carefully to what Ryuzaki was saying, frowned. He suspected that last sentence was aimed towards him, and that Ryuzaki was still bitter over Lights supposed unproven guiltiness.

"L, are you certain that you wish to involve him? It may prove to be dangerous, and you know what will happen should he break loose" Watari asked. He couldn't stop that worry he felt, for the man he looked upon as a son of sorts.

"I have calculated the risks; however I am certain he will agree to work with us." L continued, "I wish to have him sent here as quickly as possible. There is no time to waste, and I would prefer to give him little opportunity to escape en route".

"If you are absolutely certain, then I will commence preparations immediately" Watari responded and ended the call.

"What was that all about Ryuzaki?" asked Matsuda.

L turned his deadpan stare from the computer he had been at to the young man.

"You will see".

* * *

On the other side of the world, in a maximum security prison near Los Angeles, a guard glanced nervously at the cell he was passing by.

Everyone in the prison knew that cell held one of the most frightening, and dangerous, prisoners, one Beyond Birthday, who had committed the Wara Ningyo Murders a couple of years before. Since Beyond Birthdays arrival at the prison, he had been kept on 24 hour surveillance, in near total isolation.

As the guard stole a look into the low lit cell, he could make out a shadowy figure in the far corner, barely visible, however the eyes glowed slightly, an ominous red against the dark.

The eyes narrowed, in amusement, and the prisoner stepped forward to the front of the cell. The guard tried not to think of the prisoner, or that there was only a thin line of bars separating himself from Beyond Birthday.

"Terence DeLouis" Beyond Birthday grinned "I haven't seen you in a while". His eyes flickered to a spot just above Terence's head. "Shorter and shorter by the second. Such a pity" he cackled.

Terence wanted to just walk away, but it felt as though he were almost hypnotized, frozen to the spot.

Suddenly the prisoners eyes bugged out and his hands flew to his chest. Beyond Birthdays breaths became raspy, and he collapsed.

Terence stared at Beyond for a moment, then snapped out of it.

"Sir, we have a situation, possible heart attack in 24502. Requesting a medic team" he spoke quickly into the walkie talkie he had grabbed from his pocket.

"_Another heart attack? Hold on, we'll be right there"._

Terence placed the device back into his pocket, and carefully made his way over to the collapsed man, who was lying very still on the ground.

He crouched down, cautiously moving towards the cell bars.

"Hey," he said "you still awake?"

There was nothing but silence from Beyond Birthday. Terence was getting very nervous; had he just witnessed another victim of the now infamous Kira?

Suddenly, the sound of voices, and pounding footsteps from down the hall made him stand again, and turn his head away from the cell.

By doing that though, he missed the small smirk that flashed across Beyonds face.

"Down here!" Terence called out, glancing at Beyond.

The guards and medics rushed towards them, the guards standing by in the event Beyond Birthday awoke.

Terence opened the cell door, and the medics moved into the cell. What none of them were expecting however, was that the moment one of the men bent down to check for a pulse, Beyond reached up and slammed his hand against the man's forehead, instantly knocking him out.

Beyond gave a wicked smirk as he escaped the confined space, moving like lightning into the hall where the 3 guards were only just drawing their guns.

"Beyond Birthday, move back into your cell or we will be forced to-" one of the men started to shout, but he was cut off by Beyond, who had kicked his legs out from under him, causing the man to fall heavily to the ground.

Beyond took this opportunity to relieve the man of his gun, and shot the other two in the legs, thus insuring they would no longer hinder his breakout.

"You are very lucky, I don't believe in breaking clocks that have lots of time to tick" Beyond cackled.

Terence had been watching the horrific scene before him begin and end faster than he could blink. He numbly watched the killer laughing madly as it finally registered that he still had a gun, and began to draw it.

Before he could begin to lift it however, another crack rang through the hallway, and Terence looked down at the red stain that was blooming across his chest. He took one moment to look up at Beyond Birthday, who was mockingly waving good-bye to him.

"I warned you your numbers were almost up" Beyond shook his head grinning as the man took his final breath, and finally died.

Beyond knew that the shouting, not to mention the sound of gunshots, would quickly draw more guards to his location, further ceasing any possibility of his escape. He looked back at the conscious medics still cowering in the cell, and then at the one he had knocked out earlier, tilting his head thoughtfully.

Beyond quickly moved down the hallway in his new medic's uniform, thinking nothing of the now unconscious men in the relocked cell.

Make a left, then a right, and then another right, he thought absentmindedly directing himself, while focusing more on keeping an eye out for any more guards. He had a very useful knack for memorizing directions, even though he had not been out of his cell for quite some time.

Keeping his head low, murmuring "Good evening" in response to the greeting he received, it did not take him long to reach the front entrance.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" one guard called out, jogging over to Beyond, who had covered quite some ground and was almost to the front gates of the prison.

"Just finished work for the day sir" Beyond responded in a cheerful voice. Seeing the man didn't look convinced, he rolled his eyes and bolted for the gates, pulling out his gun and blowing the man's hand apart as he ran.

Shouts erupted all around him, and guards were suddenly pouring out from nowhere. Unfortunately for them, Beyond had just 'taken care of' the men at the gates, which were now automatically closing behind him, and disappeared into the darkness.

* * *

**Gah, short chapter I know, I'm sorry-fear not, the next one shall be longer! Yes, I know most prisons probably don't have bars, but let's just ignore that fact, hmm? (And as you can plainly tell, I'm not much of a fight scene writer -.-) Do not forget to make sure you let me know what you think, whether it's a compliment, correction, or any other thoughts :)**


	2. Target

**A/N: Gah! I am so happy now, thanks to all you lovely people! Since the first chapter was more of a success than I anticipated, I took the time to try and make this one longer! Just to clarify, he will be referred to as Ryuzaki by the task force members, as well as when anyone speaks to him. Any other time he will be L. Sorry if it's a bit confusing!**

_**Guest; Haha, you'll have to wait and see ;)**_

_**CHiKa-RoXy; I'm very glad you like the story so much! ^_^ Nothing to forgive, those compliments were creative and awesome! I always felt that BB resembled L, but used make-up and stuff to make himself look nearly identical (but that's just my opinion…) Hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the last!**_

**Spoilers for L's name! (For the .001% who don't know it...)**

**Disclaimer: Must I? Oh fine then; I do not own Death Note. Not the manga, not the anime, not the live action movies, merchandise, delicious characters-AHEM. They all belong to whoever has the copyrights to them. So, not me (yet…). **

"Watari, are you certain it was B?" L demanded, his cake temporarily forgotten. The task force members knew that this must have been an important conversation, because they had never seen Ryuzaki ignore cake before.

"There is no doubt it is. He is the only one missing from the location" Watari replied, shaking his head. He moved to take the slice of cake off of the desktop, but L quickly slid the plate away from him.

"Naturally, the moment I decide to contact him, he decides he wants to escape" L muttered to himself.

"Ryuzaki, what's going on? Who's B" Light asked curiously.

L glanced away from the wall of computer monitors before him, and giving Light a suspicious look, answered "Someone who I was hoping could assist us with the Kira investigation".

Light sighed inwardly. Not that he had been expecting Ryuzaki to go into detail.

"Well, what happened?" Light pressed on.

"We have lost contact with B at an inconvenient time. You seem very interested in this Light-kun. I wonder why?" L stared at Light for a moment, and then finally began to eat his strawberry cake again.

This time Light didn't bother to hide his glare and irritated sigh.

"You are now at 10% Light-kun" L said nonchalantly, before eating a large portion of the cake slice in one bite.

"Ryuzaki, would you like me to send out a team to search for B?" Watari asked before Light could reply.

"That won't be necessary. I'm sure B knows where I am by now, he will come to us" L said "There is a 74% chance he will arrive in this building within the next five days".

"I see. Would you like to send you the reports of his latest escapade?" Watari asked, turning towards the doorway.

"That would be appreciated. Thank you Watari".

"So, Ryuzaki, you're saying that you're counting on someone finding you here? In less than a week?" asked Soichiro skeptically.

"Exactly. I would not underestimate B. Depending on his means of transport, he may even arrive sooner than I calculated" L shrugged.

"I know you said that this 'B' person was someone you hoped could help us, but who exactly is he?" questioned Aizawa.

L thought for a moment. He didn't want the task force to know he was basically inviting a serial killer to live with them, and had been hoping for more time to think of a backstory. Unfortunately, those plans would have to be forgotten, especially with Beyond arriving on his own terms.

"B was a previous successor of mine." L admitted grudgingly.

"Successors?" yelped Matsuda.

"What do you mean, _previous _successor?" asked Aizawa, frowning.

L dropped a few more sugar cubes into the teacup in front of him, thinking over how to answer them without letting them know too much.

"In the likely event that I should die, there would need to be someone to take my place, and continue to solve crimes. The title of 'L' should not go unmanned for long. Watari and I have selected potential heirs over the past few years, of which B was one," L paused to take a long sip of the sugar thickened tea, "Unfortunately, due to a traumatic incident that occurred a few years ago, B disappeared; though I have kept tabs on his location up until yesterday. We have unfinished business however, so I fully expect him to seek me out".

His words were met with silence and stares, most being of shock.

"But how do you know he will try to find you? You did say things weren't exactly great between you two, what if he decides to leave you alone?" asked Light.

L gave a small smile and said "I know B very well Light-kun. He can't resist the challenge of trying to find me, confronting me, and once he hears my proposition, beating me at finding Kira".

L versus Kira. Kira, the savior and killer of criminals was all the newspapers wrote about. Beyond was actually getting sick of hearing about it.

However it was important to find out anything that could lead him to L's whereabouts, and despite his agitation at the continuous mentions of the supposed 'god', research had paid off. L was in Japan, Kanto to be precise. Beyond knew L would have wanted to be as close to Kira as possible, and make easier contact with the Japanese police.

It was a miracle he himself had not been killed by Kira yet. Beyond assumed it was due to L keeping his name and face out of the medias reach; probably because of the uncanny resemblance to his own. At least he could be thankful for that.

There was the slight problem of finding Lawliets exact location, but he could figure that out when he arrived in Japan.

Beyond carefully observed the passerby's on the street before him. He was watching for his current target, the one who would help him get to Japan.

There! Beyond sat forward a little, looking over at the young man who has just exited the bookstore in front of him. Beyond stood up, and began to walk towards the man, glancing up at the name floating above him-Isaac King. To anyone else, it appeared as though he were heading towards the store.

Isaac King was a young man, around his height and weight and had the perfect requirements for being a victim of Beyonds latest scheme.

Because Isaac was isolated, with no family around, no girlfriend, there wasn't anyone who would miss him for a while, giving Beyond enough time to get out of the country.

In any case, Isaacs's time was close enough to ending that it really wouldn't matter if he was finished off a few months ahead of schedule. All for the great cause of getting Beyond one step closer to Lawliet.

He couldn't keep from smiling when the man turned down a street with no one in hearing range. He quickly followed the man. He was not going to waste this opportunity, it was far too boring sitting around doing nothing.

Silently, Beyond walked directly behind Isaac, and slipped the knife he had acquired partially out of his sleeve. The gun he had used during his escape was useless without any bullets. And really, he had always preferred the feeling of having a knife in his hand, the closer contact with the victim of its blade.

He moved so that he was beside Isaac, and lifted the knife to the man's back.

"Keep walking. If you stop, the consequences may sting a little" Beyond muttered to Isaac, who stiffened, but managed to keep walking.

"Who are you? What's going on?" asked Isaac, eyes widening in fear.

"Shut up and keep walking. You'll be taking me to your house, got it?" Beyond hissed, pressing the knife harder into Isaac's back.

"Alright!" Isaac replied quickly, starting to shake. Beyond resisted the urge to roll his eyes. At least he hadn't started screaming; that would have been a pain to deal with, and he didn't have the time to look for another target.

It took precisely ten minutes and twenty-seven seconds to reach Isaacs home. Beyond made sure to keep close to the man as the door was unlocked and they walked in.

Beyond shut the door behind him, and turned to Isaac, a grin beginning to spread across his face.

"Go sit down in the dining room, and stay there. I wouldn't recommend moving, don't want me to take drastic measures, now do we?" Beyond turned to face the now visibly shaken man, who nodded and nearly ran to the other room.

Beyond adjusted his gloves and proceeded to close all the curtains facing the street and surrounding houses, lock the doors. This was far easier than he anticipated, not that he minded. Usually his victims put up more of a fight; however given the circumstances, it was better that things went as smoothly as possible.

Checking that nothing else had been moved by him accidently, Beyond giggled, then whirled around to walk back to where Isaac was sitting. Whipping out a long coil of rope with one hand, and moving his knife into view with the other, he quickly got Isaac to sit still, and let Beyond tie him up.

"What do you want with me?" Isaac asked loudly as Beyond finished knotting it.

"Shut up Isaac. Now, if you would please tell me where your passport is, we can get this over with faster and you'll never see me again!" Beyond said sharply.

"Why do you want my passport?" Isaac asked, fright turning to confusion.

"Well you see, it would be a bit difficult getting onto a plane and into another country without one! Seeing as I don't have my own at the moment, I'm going to be borrowing yours!" replied Beyond, grinning, "Oh, and I'll also need a credit card, driver's license, all that important stuff you won't need anymore".

Beyond hadn't thought the man could get any paler, but after that little line, he was proven incorrect.

"Listen man, please! You can't kill me, please, I've got money I'll give you anything you want!" Isaac begged.

Beyond rolled his eyes, "I have no need for more money. Just what's on that credit card you're going to direct me to".

"My friends, they're coming over this afternoon, the police will get you!" Isaac tried frantically.

"It's a shame for you that by then, I'll be on a plane, halfway around the world!" Beyond giggled, watching as the man struggled to get out of the ropes.

Beyond was getting annoyed with the lack of useful response, and decided that harsher methods should now be put to use. He strode over to stand behind Isaac, and raised his knife dragging it slowly across the man's throat.

"Alright, alright! Passport's in my bedroom, first drawer of the desk beside the window! Credit cards and all that other stuff are in my wallet in my coat pocket!" Isaac yelled.

Beyond scowled, "Do shut up, I don't want to have to deal with the neighbors. I'll run out of places to hide the bodies!" he then grinned wickedly at the shocked and sobbing man below him.

**Thank you all so much for being patient with me! I do admit, I get writers block easily (and getting up at 4am to work all day doesn't help…), but I swear I won't abandon this for anything! Remember, all reviews, be they compliments, comments, or critiques are welcomed and appreciated :)**


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